Motorcycles

Now this is what I like.

If this has been posted before sorry

Similar to MarkI's post...

I am supposed to be taking a class in june...it was mostly with the intention of just being able to ride but it might be fun to own a bike for a little while.

I would probably be into things that look like Mark's links (also, the old BMW's that I saw all over europe that looked like that) but one of my main concerns would be cheap, easy to work on, with cheap and available parts.

If I bought anything, I would want it to be very inexpensive. I have zero experience actually working on motorcycles but I am very mechanically inclined so I would be OK buying something in need of work and doing repairs myself. I think it should at least be ridable though...I don't know anything so buying something I can't even start seems risky.

What kind of stuff should I be looking at? I'm in chicago so I would be buying something local (no car so it is a benefit if I can actually ride it home...but I could arrange one if something needed to be moved). I imagine my use would mostly be at lower speeds around town (don't need any big acceleration engines...just want to ride around) with the occasional trip up to michigan or something.

Again, keeping it cheap is the main goal, but I understand that a lot of old bikes will probably retain value (especially if I make cosmetic and mechanical repairs) so something that I resell at cost in a year or two would be perfect.

2007 or earlier Ninja 250. Omnipresent, $1500, and 100% resale value, effectively.

Originally Posted by bigbjorn

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2007 or earlier Ninja 250. Omnipresent, $1500, and 100% resale value, effectively.

Looks a little bit too sport bikey for me...also, all of the pictures I see of older model Ninjas involve old fat guys (often with kids)

Originally Posted by otc

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He looks dangerous, mysterious, and look, he's got a late model, generic-looking crotch rocket too..

Older Honda CB's retain value pretty well, have tons of cheap parts, and are reasonably simple and reliable etc. My buddy bought a '75 CB750, fixed it up a little (2-300 bucks into it and little work), rode it for a couple years, and sold it for a decent profit (800 or so IIRC). It came from a ways out of town so I had to ride it back for him (he didn't have much road experience) and so he saved a fair bit on the price, then sold it in the city for a higher price. It's not the best time of year to try to buy a bike but you can probably still find something decent esp. if you are willing to travel a bit. Try to bring someone who knows bikes and hopefully the type of bike you are looking at.

If your budget is higher, an older BMW R-bike might not be too bad either. You will find much less rust and corroded parts on a BMW than a Honda and parts aren't really too expensive IME. They are also quite a bit simpler to work on. My recs come mostly from what I have owned/worked on, so there are plenty of other good bikes as well.

Ooh, thanks J,

I like the CBs (and I like simple, reliable, cheap parts).

Also those old BMW R-series bikes look like the kind of thing I was thinking of (the CBs look that way too)


I like BMWs in general...I wonder how things like rust work out being in chicago. Obviously a lot of people don't ride in the winter so it doesn't really matter as much as old cars but we still have salty roads and wetness here. Since my classes aren't until june, it will be a whole different season when I look--a quick browse through recent craigslist postings looked pretty weak.

That's very similar to the bike I started out with and I think it was a great first bike. A little old-man-ish so don't expect it to act as a chick magnet or anything. But very reliable considering its age, and easy and fun to work on for the most part. And they will go hundreds of thousands of miles with proper care.

Washed the 2 inch thick layer of yellow pollen that had settled on these bikes, even while garaged:

^ Looking good there, gnatty.

The pollen in the south is terrible this time of year, covers everything until mid-May, sometimes longer.

Great days for riding bikes though, probably chalked up 400 miles since Saturday.

Got my bike out of storage yesterday. Promptly followed by intermittent flurries today ...

Originally Posted by eg1

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Got my bike out of storage yesterday. Promptly followed by intermittent flurries today ...

Yikes. Flurries? Are you serious? That sucks man. Probably sucks almost as bad as waiting for the roads to wash clean from all the sand and stuff they use on the roads during winter. Be careful out there!!

Originally Posted by MikeDT

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Now this is what I like.

There are many things with which I would trust Chinese manufacturing and quality assurance standards for. I must say, a motorcycle is probably not one of these things at the moment.